5 big consumer tech buzzwords for 2018

Learning about and adapting to consumer requirements and behavior is likely to be one of the biggest differentiators for future versions of applications and smartphones.Hitesh Raj Bhagat | ET Bureau | February 14, 2018, 11:59 IST

The term is almost done to death now so please bear with us as we talk about it yet again in the context of consumer tech. The basic idea is to have a computer algorithm replace routine decisions you make, freeing your mind to do other things (hopefully something creative). Learning about and adapting to consumer requirements and behavior is likely to be one of the biggest differentiators for future versions of our apps, smartphones, smart media players, game consoles, TVs and so on. For instance, would you be on board if you get a single app that replaces at least 15 different apps on your phone? This app could instinctively judge if you’re trying to book a cab (based on your location, time of day, habits, work schedule) and offer it to you. Or if you snap a photo of food at a restaurant, it could offer to post it to your social networks or post an online review. As content becomes king, your smartphone and TV could learn your likes/dislikes and offer programming/content that you would want to see. Your washing machine could automatically read labels on clothes and set the appropriate wash cycle. Your air conditioner would know you were too hot and adjust itself. The tech exists, we just need to be open to it

Multi-Camera

You’ve probably seen a smartphone with dual cameras. Once the preserve of flagship devices, the tech has percolated down to the budget space too. It’s easy to understand why multiple cameras are getting so popular. Phones have to be thin which means the image sensors are small and lenses are even tinier. Multiple cameras can overcome this limitation plus offer some of the features you need. For instance, a phone could combine the digital information from multiple cameras to make one, high-quality image. You could have depth sensors for better background blur. And you can have dedicated lenses for things like macro, wide angle shots and for making distant objects appear closer. Now that 2017 made dual cameras go mainstream, we will probably see the flagships going with triple or even quad rear cameras. Going forward, multi-lens standalone cameras could also get popular. The Light L16 — a pocketable camera with 16 different image sensors and lenses — is already on sale for roughly US$2,000. They’re only going to get cheaper and better, eventually pushing the conventional cameras out of the picture.

Blockchain — this technical term sometimes scares people. So why is it mentioned with respect to personal tech? Blockchain is the underlying technology behind one of the most popular cyptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin. It’s also being hailed as one of the most important inventions since the internet itself. Blockchain is open-source (anyone can see how it works, make changes), distributed everywhere (on thousands of computers and not owned by large, greedy corporations), permission-less (no authentication, identification required to detract from the main purpose) and unhackable (or at least practically so, thanks to the decentralized nature of it). Apart from cryptocurrency, these attributes make Blockchain perfect for driving growth in areas like IoT (Internet of Things, smart connected devices), peer-to-peer money exchange (buy things directly, without a bank, card or wallet in between), protecting ownership and elimination of counterfeiting (both in software & hardware) — all things that benefit the consumer and the people that make consumer goods.

When you talk about consumer tech, e-waste is not very far behind. One of the main purposes of modular devices (apart from reduction in cost) is sustainable use. How can you continue to use the latest in tech without discarding and buying afresh? Two modular concepts in personal tech are already very real: smartphones with components that you can add on yourself (like Moto Mods in certain Motorola phones; you can add a large battery, bigger speakers, LED projector or optical zoom camera) and TVs with modular components that you can upgrade as and when needed. Samsung did this with userreplaceable circuit boards and others like Xiaomi do it using external speakers that house all the electronics. Smartphones still have a finite life but when it comes to LED TV panel technology, it’s already quite advanced and capable of lasting a lot longer than the typical TV upgrade cycle. If you’re familiar with Moore’s law — it states an 18-month timeframe for doubling of speed. How about getting a whole new TV experience, speed and features at one-tenth the cost of buying a new TV? Moving forward, modular STEM toys (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) can help inspire new generations to built the tools that we need.

Smart assistants everywhere

We moved from physical keyboards to touch quite easily. The next logical step in human-computer interaction is voice. But to really get there, it needs to be effortless, intuitive, natural and capable of doing everything we ask. With the right components, you can already ask your smart assistant to control your lights, play music, set reminders, read or send messages/email. These virtual assistants will live on your phone, in smart speakers, televisions and even your appliances like the refrigerator and washing machine.

Ultimately, the goal is to speak to a virtual assistant as naturally as possible — just as if you were talking to another person in the room. You actually don’t need vast amounts of computing power on your device or massive data usage for this since everything is done in the cloud.

Judging by the capabilities of current personal assistants, we’re just a few years away from achieving this.

Sponsored Stories

Subscribe ETCIO Newsletter

Prasad Rai, Vice President, Applications, Oracle India speaks on how enterprise users can now migrate their ERP application to its cloud platform in a smarter, speedier and safer manner, and how it could be the last upgrade they will ever do.